The Glass Clouds Ensemble (GCE) is a chamber music collective that performs imaginative, uplifting concerts of classical & contemporary music centered on environmental themes and community partnerships. Founded in 2021 by Juilliard graduates Raina Arnett and Lauren Conroy (violinists) and Marisa Karchin (soprano), the ensemble has forged immersive partnerships with a wide community of composers, visual artists, dancers, and local environmental organizations.

GCE has partnered with local organizations Beyond Organic Design, Earth Matter NY, and the Climate Imaginarium, commissioning new music and performing concerts on Governors Island and at the Anita Rogers Gallery, James Cohan Gallery, and Tenri Cultural Institute. The ensemble has been in residence at Yellow Barn and Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and has performed with the Brooklyn New Music Collective and Music for Food. In 2024, they collaborated with dance company Jody Oberfelder Projects, curating and performing music for And Then, Now, an immersive production at Green-Wood Cemetery. GCE has been featured on multimedia podcast Spark Sputter & Die for Wharf Cat Records and a panel discussion at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago titled “Creative Catalysts: Performance Art Reacting to the Climate Crisis.”

The Glass Clouds Ensemble is a first prize winner of the 2023 AVIMC competition and has received support from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and Chamber Music America, as a 2024 CMA Ensemble Forward and Artistic Projects grantee.